Thanks so much for the information that you post!I’m struggling with essays, especially the “why do you want to go here?” prompts. How do I describe the school without sounding like I just coped and pasted the website?
Hi! Thanks for your question! You're right, those questions can be tough to answer. I'd respond to this prompt in two drafts. For the first draft, just write freely about reason why you put that particular college on the list. Of course, there will be general reasons, but there should be specific reasons that you were drawn to that school compared to other similar schools. Did it seem like the campus was a cohesive community? Are there research opportunities for undergrads? Do they promote multicultural programming? It could be anything that happened to set that school a part for you. Write about that. The key is: Don't Look At the Website at this point! You don't want to be influenced by the exact wording they use because it will start to come through in your writing and make it sound like you just pulled directly from there.
Once you've written up something in your own words, only then do you jump online and check out some details about those specific aspects you're interested in. Colleges do want to see that you've done your research on them so this is an important step. Using what you've already written and identified as "why you want to go there" search their site for specific examples of how you plan to get involved. Is there a multicultural student group you want to join? Name it. Is there a professor whose research you admire? Say that. Is there a community program you want to be a part of? Specify. Basically, take what you've already written and infuse actual examples of how you plan to take advantage of those opportunities on campus.
Hope that helps! Good luck!